CHL Top Prospects: Team Orr

Prospects from all around the Canadian Hockey League are on their way to Halifax, in preparation for Wednesday’s 2013 Home Hardware CHL Top Prospects Game.

Team Orr includes three representatives each from the London Knights, Quebec Remparts and Portland Winterhawks. Eight Ontario Hockey League players, five QMJHLers and seven WHL players make up the team, which will face off against Team Cherry in Wednesday’s game.

FORWARDS

•  Justin Bailey (Kitchener Rangers, OHL): Bailey, a native of Williamsville, NY, is in his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers. He has 11 goals, eight assists and a plus-13 in 33 games with Kitchener this season and scored his first OHL goal against Kingston on October 21.

•  Max Domi (London Knights, OHL): Domi is among the top scorers on the powerhouse Knights team, scoring 60 points (25-35) in 43 games played. The 17-year-old Toronto native is in his sophomore season this year and has already broken his numbers from last year, when he put up a 49-point campaign in 62 games played.

•  Bo Horvat (London Knights, OHL): Joining Domi on Team Orr is another powerhouse Knights forward. Horvat, a native of Rodney, Ontario, has 41 points in 45 games with London this season, and has also broken his numbers from his rookie year. This season, he has 21 goals and 20 assists so far, after putting up 11 goals and 19 assists last season.

•  Kerby Rychel (Windsor Spitfires, OHL): Rychel, one of the few 18-year-olds on Team Orr, is now in his third full season in the OHL. He began his career with Mississauga, scoring eight points in 30 games during the 2010-11 year before joining Windsor for the second half of that season, where he added 13 points. His first full season with Windsor saw him put up an outstanding 74 points in 68 games, and he has averaged a point per game this year – 42 points in 42 games.

•  Sean Monahan (Ottawa 67s, OHL): Monahan is another 18-year-old on Team Orr. The Brampton native is in his third OHL season, having spent all his career with the Ottawa 67’s. After putting up 47 points in his rookie season, he scored 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points in 62 games in his sophomore campaign. He also had 15 points in 18 games during last season’s playoffs for Ottawa. This season, Monahan has 49 points (16-33) in 35 games.

•  Anthony Duclair (Quebec Remparts, QMJHL): The Montreal native is in his second season with Quebec after scoring 66 points in 63 games last season. Halfway through this year, he is expected to meet or exceed that number, having already scored 15 goals and 20 assists in just 30 games played.

•  Adam Erne (Quebec Remparts, QMJHL): One of a handful of US-born players in the Top Prospects Game is Quebec right winger Adam Erne. The 17-year-old was born in New Haven, CT and was drafted by the Remparts 22nd overall in 2011. In his rookie season, Erne scored 28 goals and 27 assists in 64 regular season games before adding six points in 11 games in the playoffs. This year, he has 53 points (20-33) in 43 games so far.

•  Nick Sorensen (Quebec Remparts, QMJHL): Sorensen hasn’t played for Quebec since mid-December, but put up 25 points (9-16) in the 26 games he has played this season. The 18-year-old Denmark native missed 60 games of his rookie year due to injuries sustained after a knee-on-knee incident occurred in a game against Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

•  Laurent Dauphin (Chicoutimi Saguenéens, QMJHL): Dauphin was called in to replace the injured Hunter Shinkaruk on Team Orr; the Chicoutimi centerman is just five points shy of the team lead in points. The 17-year-old rookie has scored 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points in 39 games this year with Chicoutimi and is third in rookie scoring leaguewide.

•  Curtis Lazar (Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL): Lazar, a 17-year-old Vernon, BC native, is in his second full season with the Oil Kings. After a 31-point rookie campaign in which he scored 20 goals and 11 assists in 63 games, he’s already broken his point total, with 32 points so far this year. He also had 19 points in 20 playoff games with the Oil Kings last year.

•  Nicolas Petan (Portland Winterhawks, WHL): Petan leads Portland with 74 points (29-45) in 43 games this season. He is also a plus-46 and is second league-wide in goals, top in assists and best in plus/minus. The 17-year-old Delta, BC native has already more than doubled his production from his rookie year, when he scored 14 goals and 21 assists in 61 games.

•  Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks, WHL): One of 10 rookies who has appeared on Portland’s roster this season, Bjorkstrand has averaged nearly a point per game, scoring 35 points (16-19) in 36 matchups. He is also a plus-24 and has previously represented Denmark in the 2012 IIHF U18 World Hockey Championships.

DEFENSE

•  Chris Bigras (Owen Sound Attack, OHL): Bigras, who turns 18 on February 22, is in his second full season with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. Last season, the defenseman scored three goals and 16 assists, and was a plus-7, in 49 games played. He had five points in five playoff games before entering this season and is considered one of the prospects to watch. Bigras has 26 points (5-21) and a plus-26 in 42 games with Owen Sound this season.

•  Nikita Zadorov (London Knights, OHL): Joining his Knights teammates on Team Orr is Russian defenseman Nikita Zadorov. The rookie has 16 points (3-13) and is a plus-30 in 40 games played this year – not surprising considering London’s recent extended winning streak.

•  Jan Kostalek (Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL): The 17-year-old Prague native is in his first season in the QMJHL, appearing in 24 games with Rimouski so far. He has six points, 30 penalty minutes and a plus-5 in that stretch after spending last season with Sparta Praha in the Czech league. There, he appeared in 10 games and was held pointless, but had four penalty minutes.

•  Seth Jones (Portland Winterhawks, WHL): Another American-born player, Jones is a native of Plano, TX in his rookie season in the WHL. With Portland, the 18-year-old projected first-round NHL pick has 28 points (8-20) in 33 games and is a plus-29.

•  Shea Theodore (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL): The 17-year-old Aldergrove, BC native is in his second full season with Seattle. After scoring 35 points (4-31) in his rookie season, Theodore has put up 29 points in 44 games this year with Seattle, adding 18 penalty minutes in that stretch.

•  Madison Bowey (Kelowna Rockets, WHL): Bowey is second in defensive scoring on the Rockets, behind only Devils prospect Damon Severson. The Winnipeg native is in his second full season with Kelowna, briefly joining the team in 2010-11 before making it full time last year. He appeared in 57 games in the 2011-12 regular season, scoring 21 points (8-13) and ending the year a plus-3 with 39 penalty minutes. This year, he has 20 points in 42 games, a plus-27 and 57 penalty minutes.

GOALTENDERS

•  Spencer Martin (Mississauga Steelheads, OHL): The 17-year-old Oakville native has been Mississauga’s top goaltender this season, appearing in 28 games so far and winning 12 of them. He has 737 saves in over 1400 minutes played and a 3.02 GAA and .909 save percentage. Last season, he carried a 3.98 GAA and .885 save percentage after 15 games played.

•  Philippe Desrosiers (Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL): A St-Hyacinthe native, Desrosiers is in his first full season in the QMJHL, having previously appeared in three games for Rimouski last year. This season, he has won 19 of 33 games played, has a 2.97 GAA and .905 save percentage and has 886 saves in over 1,880 minutes played. The rookie is in the top ten league-wide in GAA, save percentage, wins, shootouts, minutes played and saves made.

The 2013 Home Hardware CHL Top Prospects game will be held on January 16, 2013, in Halifax, Nova Scotia at 7 pm EST. The event will be televised on Sportsnet and NHL Network.